Photographing hummingbirds

I use a Sony camera , usually a Sony A6500 with a 90 mm macro lens or a 55-210mm zoom.Hummingbirds are found in the Americas that constitute the family Trochilidae. They are the smallest of birds, most species measuring 7.5–13 cm (3–5 in) in length. Indeed, the smallest bird species is a hummingbird, the 5 cm (2.0 in)bee hummingbirds weighing less than 2.0 gm.

The color of hummingbird feathers is caused by iridescence. The surface of the feather is composed of layers of tiny air bubbles. When light strikes the surface of the feather, some light is reflected from the outer surface, and some light travels through the air bubble and reflects off the inner surface. Light with wavelengths that match the thickness of the air bubble are amplified . Other wavelengths are transmitted and not reflected or cancel out.

San Diego County is home to five hummingbird species? Three are migratory—Allen’s, rufous, (that make a 2000 mile journey from Mexico to Alaska every year) and black-chinned hummingbirds—and two are residents—Costa’s, and Anna’s hummingbirds,

In the world are 102 genera of hummingbirds and 328 known species. The smallest is the bee hummingbird from Cuba, and the largest is the giant hummingbird from South America. Hummingbird bills come in different sizes and shapes, too. The long, slender bill is adapted to collect nectar from flowers. The bill protects the long, split tongue and allows each hummingbird species to feed from specific types of flowers.

Hummingbirds are called nectivores, because about 90 percent of their diet is the nectar from flowers. They also snack on insects, which they often catch by “hawking.” A hummingbird “hawks” insects by flying and diving to snap them up out of the air.

Hummingbirds come in all colors of the rainbow, and some of their feathers actually change color as they move in the light. Common names such as green-crowned comet, sapphire-vented puffleg, and ruby-throated describe the beautiful, fancy feathers of hummers. Most hummingbird species are colored in shades of blue and green, with the male being much brighter than the female; she has to blend in to her nest while incubating her eggs.

In the mid-1800s, hundreds of thousands of hummingbirds were killed for their feathers, and some species almost became extinct.

These birds consume between 3.14 and 7.6 calories a day if humans had the metabolism of a hummingbird, they would have to consume approximately 155,000 calories a day.